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Opportunities of Blockchain in Travel and Tourism

The importance of tourism stems from the many advantages and benefits that it brings to every host country. Tourism contributes to large growth and development of a country: firstly, by bringing a great deal of economic value and benefits, and secondly, by helping to build brand value, image, and identity for the country. The speed, security, and global accessibility of blockchain are ideal for the travel industry, which is expected to reach up to $1 tril­lion by 2022.

There are many different players involved, and everyone has to work closely together. If a traveler wants to travel, he must deal with airlines, book hotels, find activities, navigate airports, and perhaps rent a car. He might also need to change his currency so that he can shop at the destination.

La’Zooz, a decentralized, community-owned transportation platform being developed in Israel, cuts out the middlemen in ride-sharing services like Uber, by establishing a trusted system that allows car owners to share rides with each other. An Austin-based company, Arcade City, is developing a blockchain-based system that allows riders to negotiate rates with drivers directly.

The hoteliers and airlines must also cooperate. In addition to running their own website and booking systems, most of them have found it necessary to work with Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to reach more supermarket shelves worldwide. The operation of these systems adds to the costs for end customers but also involves many other hidden fees.

Lower costs and real results are a few of the main benefits of blockchain technology. It provides the ideal solution for the prevention of fraud in the travel industry with smart contracts. LockTrip, blockchain powered hotels & rentals travel marketplace offers a model where users can pay with their credit card—the system automatically buys the necessary crypto exchange tokens.

The industry is growing, but competition means that customers can appear to be challenging. The travel industry must examine its markets closely and target its marketing activities to capitalize on the potential the technologies offer.